Traditional gender discrimination research emphasizes workplace disadvantages faced by women. However, the rise of dual-income families and evolving caregiving roles necessitates a broader understanding of family responsibility discrimination, particularly in non-Western contexts. This study focuses on urban China, examining observers' perceptions of men and women facing work-family interference. The central research question is: In urban China, who faces more discrimination when shouldering family responsibilities—men or women? The study also explores whether work-family balance policies can mitigate this discrimination. Social role theory suggests that traditional gender roles in China might lead to more discrimination against men undertaking family responsibilities, which contradicts the norm in Western contexts. Men, traditionally seen as breadwinners, may face greater criticism for engaging in housework or childcare, while women, traditionally viewed as caregivers, may face less scrutiny for work interruptions due to family demands. The study aims to investigate these hypotheses using experiments involving supervisors and general observers' reactions to work-family conflict scenarios for male and female workers.

Existing research primarily focuses on the negative consequences of work-family conflict for individuals (work overload, stress) and primarily in Western contexts. Studies on family responsibility discrimination have mostly concentrated on Western societies and the disadvantages faced by women. There’s limited research on how observers perceive these differences and how those perceptions vary between genders in China. The authors highlight the societal shifts occurring in China, particularly the changing views towards gender roles, making it crucial to analyze contemporary Chinese attitudes. This study bridges this gap by utilizing social role theory, which posits that societal gender role beliefs influence behavior and judgments toward men and women. While discrimination against women is widely documented, the theory suggests that men might also experience discrimination in gender-incongruent situations. Specifically, in China where traditional gender roles persist, men may be disproportionately targeted when they take on tasks traditionally associated with women.

Four main experiments were conducted from late November 2021 to early June 2022, involving 2577 participants from urban China recruited through the Sojump online platform. A single-factor between-subject design was used in all experiments. Experiments 1 and 3 examined supervisors' contempt toward workers experiencing FIW (family interference in work), while Experiments 2 and 4 assessed irrelevant observers' contempt toward workers facing WIF (work interference in family). Participants read scenarios depicting workers needing time off for family reasons, with the gender of the worker and the level of WFB policies (high vs. low) manipulated. Participants then rated their contempt for the worker. Experiments 1 and 2 served as baselines, examining gender differences in perceptions of FIW and WIF. Experiments 3 and 4 examined whether WFB policies moderated the effects of FIW and WIF on discrimination. Post-hoc experiments (N=931) involved additional tests and scenarios to assess robustness and shed light on potential underlying mechanisms. The study employed two-sided independent sample t-tests as the primary analytical method, also using OLS regression to control for individual characteristics (age, education, income, subjective and objective SES, region of origin, and industry type). The study addressed potential selection bias through random assignment and a large pool of participants, and participant quality was ensured using attention checks and exclusion criteria, ensuring a representative sample from urban China.

Experiment 1 showed supervisors displayed significantly more contempt toward male workers than female workers experiencing FIW (Mdiff = 0.387, p < 0.001). Experiment 2 unexpectedly revealed that irrelevant observers showed significantly more contempt toward male workers experiencing WIF (Mdiff = 0.232, p < 0.01). This suggests that there is discrimination against men in both contexts. Experiment 3 demonstrated that high WFB policies significantly reduced supervisors' contempt for men facing FIW (Mdiff = -0.327, p < 0.01), but this effect wasn't observed in Experiment 4 for WIF. Additional analyses showed that lower subjective socioeconomic status (SES) and working in male-dominated industries correlated with greater contempt for male workers in both FIW and WIF. Individuals with higher education levels also displayed more contempt for males in both contexts. Interestingly, WFB policies were found to alleviate discrimination against men experiencing FIW for various subgroups. The post-hoc experiment confirmed the findings from Experiment 2 (p<0.05), where community neighbors expressed more contempt towards men. Additional experiments which involved varying the type of family responsibility and changing the perspective (observer vs. supervisor) yielded generally consistent results, confirming the robustness of the primary findings. OLS regression analysis, controlling for confounding variables, confirmed the results of the t-tests.

The study's findings challenge the traditional understanding of gender discrimination, demonstrating that in urban China, men facing work-family interference experience more discrimination than women in both FIW and WIF scenarios. This contrasts with Western contexts, highlighting the influence of cultural norms and societal expectations. The greater contempt for men engaging in family responsibilities could stem from evolving societal expectations and a gap between ideals and reality. While efforts toward gender equality increase expectations for men's participation in family life, women still shoulder a greater portion of care work. This disparity might lead to a harsher judgment of men's shortcomings in fulfilling family responsibilities. The effectiveness of WFB policies appears limited to mitigating supervisor discrimination, specifically in the FIW context, indicating a need for more comprehensive strategies to address discrimination in family-related contexts. The findings underscore the importance of context-specific research in understanding gender discrimination and developing effective mitigation strategies.

This study makes several key contributions. First, it reveals the surprising finding that in urban China, men experience more discrimination than women when dealing with work-family interference. Second, it demonstrates the partial effectiveness of WFB policies in reducing discrimination, mainly in the context of FIW. Future research should explore more inclusive strategies targeting societal perceptions of gender roles. It is important to investigate the impact of widespread teleworking on family responsibilities and attitudes, especially in the post-pandemic era. Further studies exploring the mediating and moderating factors behind these findings would significantly enhance the understanding of family responsibility discrimination within this specific cultural and societal context.

The study's reliance on self-reported data and hypothetical scenarios presents limitations. While the large sample size and rigorous experimental design enhance external validity, the scenarios might not fully capture the complexity of real-world situations. Moreover, the study focuses on urban China, limiting the generalizability to other regions or rural areas with potentially different cultural norms and family structures. The measures used, such as 'contempt', may be subject to different interpretations across individuals, which could affect the overall reliability and precision of the conclusions. Future work could incorporate qualitative data or observational studies to enrich and broaden understanding.